Welcome Home
by Tracy
Summary: A short scene after Shades of Grey


Welcome Home  
By Tracy LeCates  
  
The music played softly beside him as he watched the sunset fade from the sky. The evening-chilled air ruffled his short hair and he sank lower into the chair, pulling up the collar of his leather jacket. The night promised to grow colder still but he was reluctant to leave his favorite spot when he'd just started to relax. The beer bottle in his hand held one last swallow and he drained it with only the faintest thought of getting up for another. Feet propped up on the rail of the deck, Jack O'Neill was more content at that moment than he'd been in weeks. "Until we meet again, Harry," muttered under his breath, toasting the absent Colonel with his empty bottle.   
  
The fate of those they'd placed under arrest earlier that day was yet to be determined, and Jack was already harboring serious doubts that they'd do any time at all, considering. *You've pissed off the wrong people,* Makepeace had warned him. *You have no idea how high up this goes.*  
  
"Motherfucking Maybourne," he growled softly. "You pissed all over my last couple of weeks, but not tonight. Tonight is mine." The growing darkness was split by the shine of headlights as they approached the house, and Jack felt the smile forming on his face as he heard the familiar crunch of gravel beneath the tires of the vehicle. "Correction... tonight is ours."   
  
He remained unmoving, his eyes lingering on the driver of the car as she got out, hauling a large duffel bag from the rear seat. The car door slammed shut and he watched the woman's approach. Her blonde hair shone in the pale moonlight as she walked unhurriedly towards him, and dropped her bag on the steps.   
  
"Well, what took you so long?" he asked, sweeping an unread magazine from the chair next to him for her.  
  
"I was afraid Daniel might have dropped by, and me showing up with my luggage might look a little odd," Sam answered as she dropped down into the seat next to him and leaned over to kiss him. "Miss me?" she whispered against his lips, her eyes alight with humor.  
  
"I was just about to come looking for you," Jack vowed as he stole another kiss, feeling a small, unexpected rush of relief at her good mood.   
  
"Oh, you were not," she chuckled as she sat back. "Re-packing took me longer than I thought it would. I thought you'd be gone longer."  
  
"Disappointed to see me back so soon?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow at her as he reached absentmindedly for her hand.   
  
Her answering grin tugged at her lips. "Nope. It felt kind of weird to sleep back in my apartment again."  
  
Jack nodded in understanding and he gave her hand an affectionate squeeze. "It felt weird not to have you here." The confession came more easily than he'd expected it to, but then so had everything else between the two of them since his return from Edora. The easy rapport they'd formed working together over the last few years had smoothly translated itself into their off-hours relationship. "I'm sorry it was necessary."  
  
"I understand," she replied quietly, gazing up at the night sky, Jack's hand warming her fingers. "They bugged the house, and no one's supposed to know I kind of live here. My being here would have blown your cover with Maybourne, not to mention the repercussions we'd face at the SGC." She stole a glance at the man at her side, the humor in her expression fading. "I have to say that was a pretty convincing little outburst at me. I don't think anyone who heard it thought you were anything but sincere."  
  
Jack winced at the memory of her face as he'd verbally slapped her. "I apologize for that, Sam. I just....opened my mouth, and out it came. You know better than anyone that my mouth operates completely independent of my brain."  
  
"It's okay," she assured him, turning her gaze upwards towards the heavens again. "It worked, and that's really what matters. It just took me by surprise, that's all."  
  
"Not as much as the whole thing took Daniel and Teal'c by surprise," he said softly. "Orders are orders, and I understood the necessity of keeping them, and presumably you, in the dark, but... I can't say that it made me feel good to make the two of them think they didn't mean anything to me, after all we've been through together. I don't like lying to friends."  
  
Sam's response was nearly inaudible. "No, neither do I... but we're getting better at it."   
  
"You have any regrets?" Jack asked tentatively, bringing her hand to his lips. "About this? About us?"  
  
"Besides having to sneak around about it?" she asked, turning to meet his eyes. "No. No I don't. I used to regret that we didn't wake up a little sooner, but maybe we needed to take it this slow. Maybe we weren't ready for this before...."  
  
"Before I got trapped on Edora," Jack finished for her. "I spent three months there, and there wasn't a single day that I didn't think about you. Not just about getting home, about getting back to my job and my home and my life, but about you... Then, when you do show up to rescue my sorry ass, I'm a complete shit to you."  
  
"I got over it. After a while," she grumbled.   
  
"Sure, after you finish screaming at me," he chuckled. "I couldn't believe you showed up on my doorstep that night. I don't think I'd ever seen you that mad."  
  
"Mad?" she laughed. "I was livid! I never worked so hard on anything in my life as I did to get you home, and you couldn't even be bothered to say, 'thanks'. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep, never look at you at work again until I'd gotten that anger off my chest."  
  
The wicked grin spread across Jack's features. "Oh, yeah. You got the anger off your chest. And then we got something else off your chest..."  
  
Sam reached over, swatting the Colonel hard. "I finally told you that I loved you and all you can remember is that my clothes wound up on the floor. You are a complete pig!" she laughed.  
  
"Yeah, but you love me anyway." Jack rose from his chair and pulled her to her feet with him. "Getting a little cold out here, Major. Let's get your geared stowed away, back where it belongs." He bent and picked up her duffel bag, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "Welcome home."  
  
FIN 


End file.
